Mass Effect: Resurrection
by X-Shadow.of.Darkness-X
Summary: After the destruction of the Normandy, Commander Shepard wakes up in a Cerberus Medical Research Centre, with no memory of how he got there. But when he finds out that Cerberus cloned him for testing purposes, Shepard makes his escape. Now, he is being hunted across the galaxy, fighting Cerberus forces and trying to discover if he is the real Commander Shepard, or just a clone...


Shepard stared intently at the screen in front of him, eyes blurring across the masses of text scrolling across the display, readings from the nearby planet. Still nothing. He sighed. This was getting ridiculous.

After the battle against Saren and Sovereign at the Citadel, the Council had moved quickly to allay fears, covering up as much as they could of the true nature of the forces at work behind the entire ordeal. The Reapers had been reduced to a fairytale, invented by Saren to bend the Geth to his will, while Sovereign itself had been declared nothing more than an advanced Geth warship.

In an attempt to be seen to be doing something, the Alliance had ordered Shepard and the Normandy out into the Terminus Systems to hunt down any remaining Geth. For the past three weeks, the Normandy had patrolled the fringes of Terminus space, but had so far encountered no Geth at all, only the occasional slaver ship that had been quickly taken care of. Three ships had gone missing in this sector in the past month, and so far, Shepard had seen little to convince him that it was due to anything other than slavers or pirates.

It was infuriating. The Council had an actual Reaper on its doorstep, and yet they still managed to not see the wood for the trees, blinded by their own self-concern. Maybe it would have been different if he had allowed the Ascension to be destroyed in the battle. But the decision had been made, and it couldn't be changed now.

A sudden beeping from the display made Shepard return his attention to the holoscreen. A ship had suddenly appeared on the scanner. No known signature. Shepard frowned, ready to dismiss it as another slaver ship, when another reading caught his eye.

The ship was enormous. It was easily as large as the Destiny Ascension, though Shepard couldn't think who would have the resources to build such a ship, especially one that flew no flag, outside of the Alliance's knowledge. As he continued to watch the readings, the ship turned, locking onto an intercept trajectory.

'What the...?' Shepard reached over his desk, pressing a button.

"Joker, are the stealth systems engaged?"

"Yes, Commander." came Joker's reply, a hint of unease in his voice.

"Then why is an unmarked ship moving to intercept us?"

"I don't know, Commander. They can't possibly have visual contact at this range. Brace for evasive manoeuvres."

The words were no sooner out of the pilot's mouth than the Normandy banked sharply to the left. Shepard cried out in surprise as he was hurled from his chair, landing solidly on the hard metal floor, though his armour protected him form the full force of the impact. He scrambled to his feet, staggering slightly as the ship banked again, snatching his pistol up off the desk and making his way to the door.

The door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing the chaos on board. Crewmen and Alliance Marines were running back and forth, some armed and armoured, others not. Everyone was shouting, and the emergency alarms were blaring through the ship, creating a deafening cacophony.

Shepard took two paces forward, but was thrown to the floor as the ship juddered violently. The alarms increased in intensity and the sound of the onboard VI rang out over the din, the monotone voice entirely at odds with the gravity of the situation.

"Warning. Shields at 16%."

"We've been hit!" Joker's voice added through the ship intercom.

Shepard returned to his feet and ran back into his quarters, grabbing his helmet. If the shields were that compromised after one blast, the hull would be breached in a matter of moments. He slipped his helmet on, securing it and activating the radio.

"Joker?"

"I read you, Commander!"

"Any idea who's firing at us?"

"No, sir!" came the frantic reply. "If they keep it up, we'll be toast!"

"I'll launch a distress beacon!" Shepard said, running down the stairs three at a time towards the elevator. "Keep us flying!"

"Aye aye, Commander!"

Shepard skidded to a halt in front of the closed elevator doors, ramming his fist against the call button. Nothing happened.

"Come on." Shepard growled, punching the button again. "Come on!"

The ship lurched violently again, and this time, the VI's voice rang out.

"Elevator functions have been disabled due to emergency safety protocols."

"You bitch!" Shepard shouted, punching the button one final time. The ship rocked again.

"Warning. Shield levels critical."

Shepard glanced around, then reached out, hooking the tips of his fingers between the doors. With a long, strained yell, he pulled, putting all his weight into it. Slowly, the doors slid open, yielding to his grip, revealing the empty elevator shaft.

Shepard leaned forward, peering down the shaft. Sitting below was the top of the elevator, barring the way to the deck he needed to reach. Cursing, he lowered himself into the elevator shaft, clinging to the edge, then let himself drop, landing heavily on the top of the elevator, the shock absorbers in his armour taking the brunt of the impact.

Climbing to his feet again, he looked around him, looking for the emergency hatch release. He wasn't 100% sure that the elevator had one, it was more blind hope than an informed search. Every civilian elevator he had been in had an emergency hatch, he was hoping the same applied to the Normandy's elevator as well.

A large silver handle the other side of the elevator caught his attention. He started to cross the metal, but when he was halfway across, the shop rocked more violently than it had so far. Shepard was thrown across the shaft, his head bouncing off the casing of an electrical box. Dazed, but unhurt, he pulled himself to his feet as a monotone voice rang through the ship.

"Shields offline."

"Fuck!"

"Commander? How's that distress beacon coming? Not to hurry you or anything, but the ship's getting a bit broken."

"Not helpful, Jeff!" Shepard growled, wrenching the handle up and opening the hatch, peering down into the metal box. "I'm almost there, sit tight!"

"Can't do much else!" came the reply.

Shepard wasn't listening at that point. He gripped onto the edge of the hatch, swinging his body down into the elevator. He landed with a metallic clang as his boots struck the floor. He tried to pry the doors open, but they wouldn't budge. The ship jerked again, but Shepard managed to keep his feet.

"Warning. Hull breach. All personnel, please proceed immediately to the escape pods."

"Oh, that's not good."

Instead of attempting to prise the door open again, Shepard drew his pistol, pointing it at the control console. He squeezed the trigger, firing three shots into the console. Sparks flew from the console, smoke rising from the large hole and the doors slid open.

Fires were raging throughout the short hallway, throwing dancing shadows onto the walls. Sparks cascaded down from several broken lights. Red emergency lights flashed overhead, while the alarms were almost deafening. Shepard ran down the hallway, one arm held up, covering his face.

The distress beacon controls were at the end of the hallway. Hoping that the electrical systems hadn't been completely fried, Shepard fought his way down to the controls, his feet becoming lighter and lighter as the artificial gravity began to fail. He grabbed onto the controls, activating the magnetic grips in his boots.

"Commander?" Joker's voice came through Shepard's headset, now sounding slightly panicked. "We could really use the distress beacon right about now!"

Shepard's fingers danced over the controls, prepping the distress beacon. Behind him, he could just hear the sound of boots slamming against the floor. He didn't turn to look at the visitor, but they had better not be there when he turned back around.

"Shepard!" It was Ashley, the last person Shepard wanted to be running around a ship that was falling apart, despite the best efforts of the Alliance's most accomplished pilot.

"The distress beacon is ready for launch." Shepard said, activating the voice module on his helmet so Ashley could hear as well.

"Roger that, Commander." Joker said.

"Will the Alliance get here in time?" Ashley asked, grabbing a fire extinguisher and trying to combat the flames.

"They'd damn well better!" Shepard growled, picking up another extinguisher, trying to dowse the flames creeping toward the distress beacon controls. The Normandy lurched again, almost throwing the soldiers off their feet.

"We have to get out of here!" Shepard shouted, tossing the fire extinguisher aside and running over to Ashley. "I need you to get everyone to the escape pods, now!"

"Joker's still in the cockpit; he won't abandon ship." Ashley said, tossing the spent extinguisher aside and turning back to Shepard. "I'm not leaving either."

Shepard sighed quietly. Sometimes Ashley was too stubborn for her own good. It was one of the things that he admired about her, but at the current moment, it wasn't helpful.

"You're no good to anyone if you're dead!" Shepard said. "Now go!"

Ashley paused.

"Shepard..."

"Ashley, go!" Shepard said, pushing her with one hand. "I'll haul Joker out of here."

Ashley gave a small nod, turning and running back to the elevator. Shepard glanced at the distress beacon controls, then turned back to the elevator.

"Joker? I'm coming to get you." He deactivated his radio before Joker could reply, then started to run down the hallway. Halfway to the elevator, a pipe running along the wall burst, boiling hot steam hissing out. Shepard raised his arm, sprinting through the onslaught. He kept sprinting, using his momentum to leap into the elevator, grabbing hold of the edge of the hatch and pulling himself up with a grunt.

The alarms were deafening within the elevator shaft. Shepard did his best to ignore them, quickly climbing up the wall, using the small ridges on the sides as handholds. He heaved himself up onto the second deck and continued running, taking the stairs three at a time.

The doors at the summit slid open with a hiss, sucking the air from the lower decks as decompression took hold. Shepard stepped out, thankful for the zero-G training all Alliance Marines were required to undertake. The scene that greeted him was not a happy one.

The CIC was almost destroyed. The ceiling was gone, rent apart by whatever weapons the cruiser carried. Cables trailed in the air, swaying lazily in the non-existent gravity, while chairs were slowly floating away into the abyss of space. Shepard looked up as he moved slowly through the air, though he couldn't see the attacking cruiser. He didn't know whether to be relieved or concerned by that.

As he neared the cockpit, he could see Joker, as Ashley had said, still sitting in his chair, safe behind a blue barrier. Even from a distance, Shepard could see the red warning lights flashing over the displays as the Normandy's systems began shutting down, or, more likely, failed. Despite this, Joker's hands were still flying over the controls, though the Normandy didn't have enough power to escape the planet's gravity well, instead listing lazily through space. If they didn't leave soon, the ship would crash down onto the planet.

"Come on, Joker!" Shepard shouted as he entered the cockpit. "We have to go!"

Joker shook his head, his face covered by a helmet, hands still dancing across the controls.

"No! I won't abandon the Normandy! I can still save her!"

Shepard glanced at the screens, which showed the exact opposite of Joker's statement. Shepard closed his eyes momentarily. He could understand Joker's desire not to abandon ship. The frigate had served them well in the hunt for Saren, and was as much a part of the crew as the people that served aboard her.

"The Normandy's lost!" Shepard said heavily. "Going down with the ship won't change that!"

Joker looked helplessly at the various holoscreens, watching the Normandy slowly dying in front of him.

"All right." he said defeatedly, looking over his shoulder at the slowly disintegrating ship. "Help me up." A loud beeping interrupted them. Both men looked across at the last surviving holoscreen. "Oh, no."

Shepard had seen what had the pilot worried as well.

"They're coming around for another attack!"

Shepard turned, walking to the edge of the cockpit, just in time to see a laser beam slice cleanly through the Normandy, shorting out the last of the systems and cutting the frigate in half. Shepard turned back to Joker, grabbing him roughly and hauling him to his feet.

"Ahh! Watch the arm!"

Shepard moved Joker as quickly as he could without damaging the pilot's brittle bones. He slung Joker into the final escape pod, the one reserved for cockpit and bridge crewmen. Shepard tried to follow Joker into the pod, but another shot threw him away from the entrance, the force of the blast knocking him off his feet, his magnetised boots unable to keep him attached to the floor. As he floated away, he tried to force himself to the pod controls.

"Shepard!" Joker shouted, but it was useless. Shepard reached out, pushing the pod eject button as another beam tore into the ship. He was dimly aware of Joker's shout, before the pod was jettisoned and the Normandy exploded, the force of the blast throwing Shepard across the remains of the ship, his back slamming into a sheet of metal before he spun away into space.

He was helpless, only able to watch as the remains of the Normandy disintegrated. In the distance, he could see the escape pods plummeting down to the surface of the planet. It was then that he noticed the chill.

Alliance hardsuits were environmentally controlled to regulate temperature. The only way he would feel a chill was if his suit had failed. He looked at the HUD on the inside of his helmet. Sure enough, the oxygen levels were dropping rapidly. Almost immediately, he began to experience the choking sensation that came with asphyxiation. He grabbed uselessly at his suit as he started to fall to the planet.

As he fell, Benezia's last words rang in his ears. _No light... they always said there was a light..._ Then his world faded to black, and he knew no more...

-x-x-x-x-x-

"What do you mean, _destroyed?!_"

"The Normandy was destroyed in the attack, sir."

The Illusive Man brought a hand to his face, rubbing his forehead.

"I told you, I wanted Shepard _alive!_"

The man took a few involuntary paces backwards.

"I didn't... I mean, I..."

The Illusive Man shook his head.

"Miranda?"

The man turned in surprise, not realising there was another person in the room. He came face to face with a pistol. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the trigger was pulled, a metal slug punching straight between his eyes. He was dead before he hit the floor.

Miranda Lawson dropped her arm, holstering her pistol and stepping over the man's body.

"One of our teams have been able to recover Shepard's body." she said, stepping through a holoscreen.

The Illusive Man sighed.

"It's not ideal." he said, his mind moving at a million miles a second, planning and replanning several different ideas. "Can you bring him back?"

Miranda nodded, her jaw set.

"I can try."

"You _will_," the Illusive Man said, his voice steely. "by any means necessary."

Miranda nodded again.

"Yes, sir."


End file.
